US4703696A - Penetrator for a subcaliber impact projectile - Google Patents
Penetrator for a subcaliber impact projectile Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US4703696A US4703696A US06/295,552 US29555281A US4703696A US 4703696 A US4703696 A US 4703696A US 29555281 A US29555281 A US 29555281A US 4703696 A US4703696 A US 4703696A
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- core
- casing
- penetrator
- projectile
- improvement defined
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
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Classifications
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F42—AMMUNITION; BLASTING
- F42B—EXPLOSIVE CHARGES, e.g. FOR BLASTING, FIREWORKS, AMMUNITION
- F42B12/00—Projectiles, missiles or mines characterised by the warhead, the intended effect, or the material
- F42B12/02—Projectiles, missiles or mines characterised by the warhead, the intended effect, or the material characterised by the warhead or the intended effect
- F42B12/04—Projectiles, missiles or mines characterised by the warhead, the intended effect, or the material characterised by the warhead or the intended effect of armour-piercing type
- F42B12/06—Projectiles, missiles or mines characterised by the warhead, the intended effect, or the material characterised by the warhead or the intended effect of armour-piercing type with hard or heavy core; Kinetic energy penetrators
Definitions
- My present invention relates to impact or inertial projectiles of armor-piercing or armor-breaking type and, more particularly, to a penetrator for an impact or inertial projectile adapted to penetrate the armor of a military vehicle such as a tank, armored personnel carrier or armored artillery unit.
- projectiles which may be self-propelled or fired from a barrel-type weapon such as a cannon, which comprise at least one core of high-density metal adapted to function as a penetrator or armor-breaking or armor-piercing element.
- the penetrator which functions because of its high kinetic energy on impact with the armor to pierce or damage the latter without the use of an explosive, can be carried on or form part of a projectile having a plurality of such cores (see the commonly assigned copending application Ser. No. 949,067 filed 5 Sept. 1978), now abandoned but replaced by Ser. No. 412,794 of Aug. 23, 1982 the cores being designed to pierce the armor in succession.
- An impact or inertial projectile differs from an active-head projectile in that the latter generally carries an explosive charge which detonates as the projectile contacts or approaches the target whereas the former utilizes merely its kinetic energy to penetrate the armor wall.
- Multi-core penetrators as described in the aforementioned copending application can be used when the armor of the target is multilayer or laminated armor (a so-called multiple target or structured target) in which case the successive engagement of cores with the armor permits penetration through successive layers and hence effective penetration into the vehicle or through the armor wall.
- the core is, as noted, of a high-density hard metal and generally is surrounded by a shell which may be the casing of the projectile.
- the projectile may be provided with additional impact or inertial cores or with activatable charges which function once the projectile has penetrated the armor by explosion to destroy the target.
- the high-density core of the penetrator when surrounded by a lower-density metallic shell or casing, forms a penetrator of a median density, i.e. a density which is a weighted average of the densities of the core and the surrounding envelope of lighter metal.
- This average density should be as high as possible since the penetration of the device is a function of the kinetic energy which, in turn, is a function of mass and the greater the density, the greater the mass for a given volume of the penetrator.
- the mass be as large as possible of the core and this can be ensured by making the core elongated for a given diameter of the projectile so that the ratio of the length to the diameter of the core is relatively large.
- Such relatively elongated cores have been found to be especially effective against multilayer armor.
- the cores are generally formed from a high-density hard material, e.g. tungsten, which is difficult to machine and hence the cores are formed by sintering and like powder-metallurgical techniques. lt has been found that when such cores engage the target and even when such cores are accelerated from the barrel of the weapon on firing of the projectile, they tend to crack transversely to their longitudinal dimension.
- a high-density hard material e.g. tungsten
- Such cracks can develop as a result of bending stresses applied during fabrication, assembly, firing or impact and are rapidly propagated through the core because the hard materials from which cores are made are generally relatively brittle so that the cracks customarily extend over the full cross section.
- the number of cracks and the degree of fragmentation of the core are so great that the penetrator totally loses its effectiveness or, at best, has significantly reduced penetration against multilayer targets.
- Another object of the invention is to provide a penetrator for such a projectile which is less susceptible to loss of penetrating power with cracking of the penetrator cores.
- a penetrator for a subcaliber impact or inertial projectile especially a projectile adapted to attack armored targets and particularly multi-layer armor, and in which the core of the penetrator is subdivided along a longitudinal axis into at least two core parts or partial cores separated by at least one intervening layer and held at a predetermined distance from one another by this layer.
- this layer is formed by a sheath of metal surrounding at least one of the core parts and preferably surrounding both of the core parts while being interposed between them.
- the separation of the two core parts transverse to the axis may be equal to the sum of the thicknesses of the sheaths which surround the core parts and contact each other.
- the sheaths of the core parts form individual compartments in which the core parts are disposed but are unitary or in one piece with one another, the separation thickness may be equal to the wall thickness of the sheaths about each core part.
- the material of the intervening layer corresponds to the material of the shell or casing surrounding the core of the penetrator although it is also contemplated within the invention that the material of the intermediate layer can differ from that of the shell or casing.
- the sheaths can be formed unitarily with the casing material.
- the casing or shell is composed of a material which is more ductile and tougher than the material of the core, i.e. the hard metal surrounded by the sheath, which, in turn, may be more ductile and tougher than the material of the core as well.
- the material of the casing or shell should have a strength-loss temperature which differs from that of the core and is advantageously lower than the strength-loss temperature of the core.
- the material of the sheath and heads of the interposed layer can have a strength-loss temperature different from that of the core and preferably lower than that of the core as well.
- the core parts are preferably circular-cross-section rods or cylindrical-segmental bars
- the crack can only run until it meets the sheath or the boundary or surface of the core part.
- the cracks are not propagated from one core part to another core part and hence the penetration of the device remains high in spite of cracks here and there in the various core parts.
- FIG. 1 is an axial section of part of a first penetrator according to the invention with a portion thereof broken away;
- FIG. 2 is a section taken along the line II--II of FIG. 1;
- FIG. 3 is a section similar to FIG. 2 but illustrating a second embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic sectional view, partly in elevation, showing a projectile provided with a penetrator according to the invention.
- the first embodiment of the penetrator according to the present invention is represented at 1 and comprises a casing 2 of generally rod shape in which the partial cores 3' of a material of comparatively higher density are disposed.
- the partial cores 3' are of circular cross section and are enclosed in cylindrical thin-wall sheaths which are interconnected at 4 to form a unitary sheath body which separates the partial cores from one another with partitions having the sheath thickness.
- the core is subdivided along axial planes into cylindrical segments corresponding to four quadrants.
- Each partial core 30' is surrounded by a thin wall sheath and two such sheaths as shown at 40 form partitions spacing apart the partial cores.
- the partial cores with their respective sheaths are embedded in a casing 20 which corresponds to the casing 2 of FIGS. 1 and 2, the latter filling the interstices between the sheaths of the cores as well.
- a crack in one of the partial cores 3', 30' can run transversely only until it meets a boundary layer 5 at the junction between a sheath and a partial core, the boundary layers being shown at 50 for the second embodiment.
- the material of the casing 2, 20 and/or the sheath 4, 40 such that its strength/loss temperature is different from that of the core which can be composed of sintered tungsten particles.
- the penetration occurs initially at an outer armor layer at a temperature between 1200° C. and 1500° C. If the casing or the sheath loses its strength at a higher temperature than the core, the penetrator deteriorates from the inside out which has been found to be particularly advantageous when the pre-armor comprises brittle materials such as ceramic layers.
- the decomposition of the penetrator takes place from the outside in which has been found to be particularly effective with high-ductility and tough pre-armoring materials.
- the decomposition of the material having the lower strength-loss temperature should commence at a temperature in the range of 1200° C. to 1500° C.
- the projectile 110 is shown to have a low-mass readily destroyed conical nose piece 111 followed by a pair of penetrators 112 and 113 while the balance of the projectile can carry an explosive charge or further impact or inertial cores.
- the core rods 115 of the first penetrator 112 are individually sheathed by material at 114 while the core rods 116 of the second penetrator 113 merely have separating layers 114 interposed between the rods.
- the outer diameter 108 of the subcaliber projectile 110 is less than the diameter of the bore of the barrel of the weapon from which the projectile is fired.
- the projectile 110 may be provided with a releasable drive cage 107 temporarily held around the projectile by a band 106.
- the drive cage is held in the mouth of a shell whose casing is shown at 100 and receives a propellant 105.
- the propellant charge 105 is fired by a primer 104 with the detonation initiated by a pin 103 in the base 102 of the shell which has an outwardly extending flange 101 engageable by an ejector of the cannon.
- the outer diameter of the drive cage 107 corresponds to the core diameter of the weapon.
- the rear end of the projectile is formed with a fin-type stabilizer as represented at 109.
- the shell carrying the subcaliber projectile 110 is inserted into the magazine of the weapon with the projectile extending into the barrel.
- the propellant charge 105 drives the projectile via its cage 107 through and from the barrel.
- the air resistance tears away the drive cage 107 as described in the aforementioned application to allow ballistic travel of the projectile to the armored target.
- the penetrators Upon impact against the target, the penetrators, by virtue of their high kinetic energy, break the armor in the usual manner and allow destruction of the armored vehicle.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Aiming, Guidance, Guns With A Light Source, Armor, Camouflage, And Targets (AREA)
- Laminated Bodies (AREA)
Abstract
Description
Claims (10)
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
DE19792948375 DE2948375A1 (en) | 1979-12-01 | 1979-12-01 | PENETRATOR FOR A LOW-CALIBRATION BULLET STOCK TO COMBAT - ESPECIALLY MULTIPLE - ARMORED TARGETS |
DE2948375 | 1979-12-01 |
Related Parent Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US06213172 Continuation-In-Part | 1980-11-26 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US4703696A true US4703696A (en) | 1987-11-03 |
Family
ID=6087335
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US06/295,552 Expired - Lifetime US4703696A (en) | 1979-12-01 | 1981-07-27 | Penetrator for a subcaliber impact projectile |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US4703696A (en) |
DE (1) | DE2948375A1 (en) |
FR (1) | FR2538530B1 (en) |
GB (1) | GB2128299B (en) |
Cited By (9)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5528989A (en) * | 1993-04-29 | 1996-06-25 | Briese; Torrey L. | Highly separable bullet |
US6186072B1 (en) | 1999-02-22 | 2001-02-13 | Sandia Corporation | Monolithic ballasted penetrator |
US6659013B1 (en) * | 1997-01-08 | 2003-12-09 | Futurec Ag C/O Beeler + Beeler Treuhand Ag | Projectile or war-head |
US20100269723A1 (en) * | 2006-08-16 | 2010-10-28 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | Metal binders for thermobaric weapons |
US8028626B2 (en) | 2010-01-06 | 2011-10-04 | Ervin Industries, Inc. | Frangible, ceramic-metal composite objects and methods of making the same |
US8250985B2 (en) | 2006-06-06 | 2012-08-28 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | Structural metallic binders for reactive fragmentation weapons |
US8414718B2 (en) | 2004-01-14 | 2013-04-09 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | Energetic material composition |
RU2680568C1 (en) * | 2018-03-22 | 2019-02-22 | Федеральное государственное унитарное предприятие "Центральный институт авиационного моторостроения имени П.И. Баранова" | Reactive metal device |
US10323919B2 (en) | 2010-01-06 | 2019-06-18 | Ervin Industries, Inc. | Frangible, ceramic-metal composite objects and methods of making the same |
Families Citing this family (8)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE3430128C2 (en) * | 1984-08-16 | 1987-02-26 | Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V., 8000 München | Penetrator for a kinetic energy projectile |
AT385596B (en) * | 1984-09-21 | 1988-04-25 | Voest Alpine Ag | PENETRATOR FOR A LOW-BALANCE BALANCE SHEET |
US4913054A (en) * | 1987-06-08 | 1990-04-03 | Dynafore Corporation | Projectile delivery apparatus |
FR2619900A1 (en) * | 1987-08-26 | 1989-03-03 | Stribling Gerald | Non-explosive projectile for fighting against lightweight targets |
DE3910593A1 (en) * | 1989-04-01 | 1990-10-04 | Diehl Gmbh & Co | Armour-piercing projectile |
DE3941785C2 (en) * | 1989-12-19 | 1994-06-16 | Diehl Gmbh & Co | Penetrator for a balancing projectile |
DE4135780C2 (en) * | 1991-10-30 | 1999-10-14 | Deutsch Franz Forsch Inst | Arrow balancing projectile |
DE10039304A1 (en) * | 2000-08-11 | 2002-02-21 | Diehl Munitionssysteme Gmbh | Warhead for kinetic energy projectile comprises housing and penetrator which has massive head section and central blind hole that contains charge |
Citations (12)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US631703A (en) * | 1898-12-16 | 1899-08-22 | Scovill Manufacturing Co | Shrapnel shell. |
US1305967A (en) * | 1918-05-22 | 1919-06-03 | Edward A Hawks | Explosive shell. |
US1892152A (en) * | 1931-11-06 | 1932-12-27 | Ralph E Jones | Projectile |
GB573914A (en) * | 1943-08-06 | 1945-12-12 | Frantisek Karel Janecek | Improvements in or relating to armour piercing projectiles |
US3599573A (en) * | 1968-05-31 | 1971-08-17 | Whittaker Corp | Composite preformed penetrators |
US3877380A (en) * | 1972-07-21 | 1975-04-15 | Us Navy | Layered projectile for close-in weapon system |
US4036141A (en) * | 1976-08-02 | 1977-07-19 | Korr Abraham L | Ammunition |
US4044679A (en) * | 1975-10-06 | 1977-08-30 | The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army | Laminated armor-piercing projectile |
US4123975A (en) * | 1976-03-03 | 1978-11-07 | Mohaupt Henry H | Penetrating projectile system and apparatus |
US4301737A (en) * | 1979-10-04 | 1981-11-24 | The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army | Multi-purpose kinetic energy projectile |
US4323012A (en) * | 1980-06-27 | 1982-04-06 | Driver Jr George J | Laser-resistant warhead |
US4353305A (en) * | 1978-11-23 | 1982-10-12 | Etat Francais Represente Par Le Delegue General Pour L'armement | Kinetic-energy projectile |
Family Cites Families (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE141661C (en) * | ||||
US3213792A (en) * | 1962-11-20 | 1965-10-26 | Bofors Ab | Armor-piercing projectile with hard core |
DE2234219C1 (en) * | 1972-07-12 | 1985-10-31 | Rheinmetall GmbH, 4000 Düsseldorf | Armor-piercing projectile |
-
1979
- 1979-12-01 DE DE19792948375 patent/DE2948375A1/en active Granted
-
1980
- 1980-11-25 GB GB08037692A patent/GB2128299B/en not_active Expired
- 1980-12-01 FR FR8025432A patent/FR2538530B1/en not_active Expired
-
1981
- 1981-07-27 US US06/295,552 patent/US4703696A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Patent Citations (12)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US631703A (en) * | 1898-12-16 | 1899-08-22 | Scovill Manufacturing Co | Shrapnel shell. |
US1305967A (en) * | 1918-05-22 | 1919-06-03 | Edward A Hawks | Explosive shell. |
US1892152A (en) * | 1931-11-06 | 1932-12-27 | Ralph E Jones | Projectile |
GB573914A (en) * | 1943-08-06 | 1945-12-12 | Frantisek Karel Janecek | Improvements in or relating to armour piercing projectiles |
US3599573A (en) * | 1968-05-31 | 1971-08-17 | Whittaker Corp | Composite preformed penetrators |
US3877380A (en) * | 1972-07-21 | 1975-04-15 | Us Navy | Layered projectile for close-in weapon system |
US4044679A (en) * | 1975-10-06 | 1977-08-30 | The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army | Laminated armor-piercing projectile |
US4123975A (en) * | 1976-03-03 | 1978-11-07 | Mohaupt Henry H | Penetrating projectile system and apparatus |
US4036141A (en) * | 1976-08-02 | 1977-07-19 | Korr Abraham L | Ammunition |
US4353305A (en) * | 1978-11-23 | 1982-10-12 | Etat Francais Represente Par Le Delegue General Pour L'armement | Kinetic-energy projectile |
US4301737A (en) * | 1979-10-04 | 1981-11-24 | The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army | Multi-purpose kinetic energy projectile |
US4323012A (en) * | 1980-06-27 | 1982-04-06 | Driver Jr George J | Laser-resistant warhead |
Cited By (11)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5528989A (en) * | 1993-04-29 | 1996-06-25 | Briese; Torrey L. | Highly separable bullet |
US6659013B1 (en) * | 1997-01-08 | 2003-12-09 | Futurec Ag C/O Beeler + Beeler Treuhand Ag | Projectile or war-head |
US6186072B1 (en) | 1999-02-22 | 2001-02-13 | Sandia Corporation | Monolithic ballasted penetrator |
US8414718B2 (en) | 2004-01-14 | 2013-04-09 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | Energetic material composition |
US8250985B2 (en) | 2006-06-06 | 2012-08-28 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | Structural metallic binders for reactive fragmentation weapons |
US8746145B2 (en) | 2006-06-06 | 2014-06-10 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | Structural metallic binders for reactive fragmentation weapons |
US20100269723A1 (en) * | 2006-08-16 | 2010-10-28 | Lockheed Martin Corporation | Metal binders for thermobaric weapons |
US8028626B2 (en) | 2010-01-06 | 2011-10-04 | Ervin Industries, Inc. | Frangible, ceramic-metal composite objects and methods of making the same |
US8468947B2 (en) | 2010-01-06 | 2013-06-25 | Ervin Industries, Inc. | Frangible, ceramic-metal composite objects and methods of making the same |
US10323919B2 (en) | 2010-01-06 | 2019-06-18 | Ervin Industries, Inc. | Frangible, ceramic-metal composite objects and methods of making the same |
RU2680568C1 (en) * | 2018-03-22 | 2019-02-22 | Федеральное государственное унитарное предприятие "Центральный институт авиационного моторостроения имени П.И. Баранова" | Reactive metal device |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
FR2538530A1 (en) | 1984-06-29 |
DE2948375C2 (en) | 1988-06-16 |
GB2128299A (en) | 1984-04-26 |
DE2948375A1 (en) | 1984-02-23 |
GB2128299B (en) | 1984-10-03 |
FR2538530B1 (en) | 1987-05-07 |
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Legal Events
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AS | Assignment |
Owner name: RHEINMETALL GMBH, DUSSELDORF, GERMANY A CORP. OF G Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNOR:BOCKER, JURGEN;REEL/FRAME:003912/0614 Effective date: 19810504 Owner name: RHEINMETALL GMBH, GERMANY Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:BOCKER, JURGEN;REEL/FRAME:003912/0614 Effective date: 19810504 |
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Owner name: RHEINMETALL INDUSTRIE GMBH, GERMANY Free format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:RHEINMETALL GMBH;REEL/FRAME:007235/0027 Effective date: 19940920 |
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Owner name: RHEINMETALL INDUSTRIE AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT, GERMANY Free format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:RHEINMETALL INDUSTRIE GMBH;REEL/FRAME:008094/0853 Effective date: 19960306 |
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